Electrical apparatus.



No. 888,888. EATENTED AUG.. 25, 1908.

Y 4G. J. KLEIN.

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION P'ILED NOV. 27, 1906.

2 SHEETS--SHEBT 1.

n 8. la

No. 888,888. PATENTEL AUG. z5, 1908.v

G. J. KLEIN.

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION EILED NOV. 27, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

m l m other sunport in which n'iount my preferably lor-mcd oi' insulnting .ijnifrie @refine rerun@ onirico.

CHARLES JULiUs KLEi-N, or New YORK, 'A1-Y., issienon To RALPH ABRAHAM seu'onrnnno, er New YORK, n.- Y.

ELECTREGAL AP'EARAT'US.

Specification of Lettere Patent.

no. eeesee.

Patented u'g. 25, 19.08.v

Application filed November 27, 19%. Serial No 345,@3.

To all whoml it moyconcem:

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. KLEiN, e

citizen of the United States,A residing in the borough of Manhattan, in the city,l county, andA State of Kew orkliave invented cer tain new and useful improvements in Electrical Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. y

This invention relates to, electrical apparatus, and more particularly to electric switches' or cut-outs.

ln.wiring buildings, it is customary` tol longitudinal verticaleectionel View oil my honV the insulating closing or receptacle showing block in its outwaru or extended position .protecting the ends of the stationary circuit members. l"ig.'2 is a. longitudinal vertical' sectional view similar to Fig. l showing the insulating block Z6 depressed and the plug or contact carrying device in operative position. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on'line a--a of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical sec-- tion of a modiication. Fig. 5 is e len View of the structure shown in Fig. 4. viig. 6 is a. View similar to Fig. 4, the block being shown in side elevation, showing the Contact carry ing member partly in Vertical section end in o ieretive iosition in the box or reeepteeie. l ig. 7 is a longitudinal Vertical. section oi the Flugorcontect carryingr member used in this iorin oi' my. plan View oi'tlie saine.

in the illustrative embodiments oi this invention 25H is a wall, floor, ceiling.; or any I box or reccptnc e material ond consisting; oi a bottom l5 and side walls lll. @n tho iiottoiu i5', Fig. i, in any suitable manner, os hy screws 21 and 22, l mount posts or circuit ineinliers 2b ond 2li, their lower ends being; internally screwthreaded to receive thel ends of 'the screws 2i and 22 respectively. Upon these posts or circuit members 23 and 24 i slidahly mount y an insulating closilgblocli 26 of porcelain or invention, and Fig. is a iiottrnrnv 424, ing. e.

any other suitable insulating substance pwvided with openings 25, 25, iol the reception o1E the posts or circuit members and in the bottom formed with e depression or socket 31 for the reception of a sprin 3), one enti of which is mounted in the sce et 3i and the other end hears upon the bottom 15 of the box. This spring 30 normally forces the insulating block 26 outward to the position lshown in Fig. i, Such outward movement of the block being guided through the opening 27 inthe face plate, into which the block 26 and posts or circuit members 23 and 24 extend, l) the downwardly and inwardly turned i angelf) of the 'fece plate 17.

' Upon the block l forni any suitable stop to co-act with the inwardly turned llzingo 29Wr 'thc lace plato. This stop l. preferably,

though not necessarily, 'form :is n luca-4l .225 upon the block, which contacting with the luturned flange 2i) serves to limit the outward movement of the insulating block' 25 under the action of the spring 30.

The atop or bead 28 is so positioned on the block 2,6 tliet the block,v in connection with Atire face pla te always' closes the interior ci the box or receptacle in whatever position it may be, lijven in the extreme depressedposition shown in Fig. 2', the interior oi the 'ocx is aheoluteiy closed, preventing dirt or 'foreign metter of any-description from getting into it; Such foreign metter would not only ioul the 'box out would tend to create a short-circuit within it. This closingI of the interior of the box et ail times also preventst-einpering withV the inclosed contacts. Within the bloeit i also arrange radialeocliete 35, '35, preierelily one hundred and eighty degrees eport 'within which l mount slidingq contacts "32, 33, one of their ends .'54 being hiiurcated to receine the 'poste .or circuit niei'nlere 23', 'liese contacts slide ontlie' posts 23, 24 and move with the bloeit 26 when the lilock is in its retracted position, sin .i'n in iiig. 2,- thoycontact respectivciy with fixed contacts i8, li connected respectively with line Wires li) and, 20.

v'illu'. lalocii 2o tolerated oy means ol; o plug or 'contact carrying device li, lng.

maiale to' lit tlio'dopressn-m iu. the i'ncc plete i7. The contact carrying device may he snede of porcelain or any other insulating materiel and is provided, with chambers orV pockets 37 within which are secured the ends ol the service wires 59, 40, who-.here con- .suitable locking means.

nected to the contacts 41, 41 by means of binding nuts 38, 38,. The lower ends of these contacts 41 are enlarged as at 42, 43 and seated .in recesses or chambers 44, 44 which are adapted to receive the ends of the posts or circuit members 23 and 24, Fig. 2.

To hold the plug or contact carrying member to the box or receptacle,- against the out- Ward'thrust of the spring 30, I may use any Such means may consist of a spring' catch 45 mounted in a recess on the sideof the plug 36 `and detachably engaging with a' notch 46` in. the face plate 17, Fig. 2.- The catch is readily disengaged om the face plate, when it is desired to remove the plug or contact carrying device, by simply pressing the catch 45 inward until it escapes the notch 46 when the lug can readily be withdrawn. While I ave dcvscribed this form of lock, it is to be understood that any other form may be used without departing from my invention.

Instead of having my insulating block round I may have it oblong and also use a different form of stop to limit the outward l movement of the block, as well as use a different form of sliding contacts, always, however, -keeping the interior of the box closed in whatever position the insulating block maybe.

In Fig. 4 I may use a face plate 17 having merely a depending flange 159, which in this form o'f my invention is oblong to surround a similar oblong opening 154 in the face plate 17. The flange 159 serves artly asa cover, to keep the interior of the box or receptacle closed at all times, and partly as a guide or su port to the insulating block 153. The insu Aating block 153 is also guided in its movement by another guide which as shown is a screw 156 screwing into the bottom 15 of thel box or receptacle, and upon which I preferably mount a resilient member, suc as a coiled sprin 158, one end resting upon the .bottom of t e box and the other upon the bottom of the block 153. This spring normally forces the block outward which movelment is limited by the head 155 ofthe screw 156. The insulating lblock in this form is also rovided with two openings 152, 152 withi which are mounted sliding electrical contacts 160, 169 mounted to i slide upon posts or circuit members 149, 150,'the screwthreaded portions 147 and 148 screwing into or being otherwise secured in'the bottom 15 of the box or receptacle. Upon each of the circuit members I mount any suitable yielding means, such as coil springs 161, 161, having one end resting upon the interior of the box'and the other end resting in a hollow chamber 162 of the sliding contact. These springs 161 force the contacts outward until such outward movement is stopped by the heads 151.

Inward movement of lthe sliding contacts stesse 169, 160, against the action of the respective springs- 161, will cause these members to contact with the contacts 143 and 144, connected respectively with ythe service wires y 145 and 146, thereby causing the current to flow through the circuit members 149 and 150. To make the insulating block 153 present a neater appearance I may mount a plate 202, upon it secu-ring it by cement or any other suitable means to the block.

' The contact carrying member 163which takes. the current from these circuit members is sha ed to snugly fit the opening 154 in the face p ate, whichl as shown is oblong, though it is to be understood that the configuration of this opening in the face plate is immaterial. 'I provide the body of the member 163 with three openings 164, 164 and 171; the opening 17.1 receives the end of the screw 156, as shown in Fig. 6 when the'block 153 is depressed; the other openings 164 and 164 have 4mounted within themA spring contacts 165 and 166 which connect respectively with wires 167 and 168, and into these openings 164 extend the, circuit members 149 and 150, Fig. 6, when the contact carrying member is applied to the box or receptacle. The openings 164 are of less diameter. than the sliding contacts 16() so that the contacts 160 are forced inward by the contact carrying member 163, against the'action of their springs 161, 161, until they contact with the contacts 143 and 144, the current then passing from the service wires through the sliding contacts 160, 160, circuit members 149, 150, contacts 165, 166 to the wires 1 67Iand 168. To hold the contact carrying member 163 to the box or receptacle I may .use'some locking meanssuch as a spring catch 169 coperating with a notch 170 in the depending flange 159 of the face plate 17, Fig. 6.

It will be seen that in whatever position the insulating block ymay be, either in the extreme outward position shown in Fig. 4 or the extreme inward position shown in Fig. 6, the interior of the box or receptacle which is preferably formed of insulating material is always closed. It willalso` be noted that the contacts carried by the contact carrying member are located in. the body of the member and thoroughly vprotected from damage or injury of anykmd.

Furthermore in my device the contact carrying member can be applied to the box or receptacle with a rough'adjustment, requiring no accurate fitting of the parts. The two plarts can be accurately seated by simply roug ly moving the contact carrying member across the face of the box or receptacle with an inward pressure, the' parts seating as soon as the contact carrying device registers with the insulating block.

Having thus described this invention in connectionk with illustrative embodiments thereof, to the details of which Ido not de- A,51aperture'of the face. plate, a nnthe circuit vices inthe box,

l Pate 'thegblock outward and means for imiting 'a block adapted such outward movement of the'block.

2. In a deviceof the class described, a box,- c1rcu1t members mounted therein, a facey plate for said box having an aperture through which the circuit members extend and a downwardly and inwardly extending flange, a block mounted on the circuit members, havin a' bead to coperate with the inwardly turne y portion of the flan e to limit the outward movement of the Illock, electrical contact devices in the box and means for normally pressing the bead of the block into contact with the inwardly turned flange of the face plate.

3. In a device of a face plate therefor having an aperture and a downwardly and inwardly extending flange, to be guided by the flange of the face plate, circuit membersfastened to the box upon which the block is adapted to be moved, movable contacting devices carried bythe block and ada ted to have sliding electrical connection witii the' circuit member, a fixed contact member to coperate with the movable contact member carried by the block, a bead upon the block, ada ted to 'cooperate with the inturned flange of t e face' `plate to limit the outward movement of the lock and means for normally causing the block to close the a erture of the face plate. 4. In a device of t e class described, a box,

a face plate therefor having an aperture and a downwardly and inwardly extending flange, a block adapted to be guidedby. the flange of the face plate, circuit members fastened to the box upon which the block is adapted to be moved, movable contacting devices carried by the blockand ada ted to have sliding electrical connection wit the circuit member, a fixed contact member to coperate contact member carried by the block, a bead upon the block ada ted to coperate with the inturned flange of t e face platetollimit the outward-movement of the lock and means for mormally causing the block to close the-aperture of the faceplate, the contact carrying device having recesses to coperate with the circuit members mounted in the box, and contacts completely housed within the recesses ofthe contact carrying deviceso as to protect them from inwith the movable plate to limit the outward movement of the f I cooperate with t the class described, a box,4

vplate therefor having a depression and an 5. vIn a device of the class described, a box,

a face plate therefor having an aperture and` a downwardly and inwardly extendin flange, a block adapted to be guided by .the ange of .the face plate, crcuit members fastened to th 'e box upon which the block is adapted to be moved, electrical contact .devicesin the box, a bead upon the block adapted to coperate with the inturned flange of the-face lock, means for lnormally causing the block to close the aperture of the face plate, the contact carrym device having recesses to e circuit members mounted in t e box, contacts completely housed within the recesses of the contact carrying device so as to protect' them from injury, and means for temporarily locking the contact carrying device tothe face plate. l

6. In a box ofthe class described, a face opening therein, contacts 1n the' box, closure means coperating with the face plate to always close the box, said contacts having their ends extending out of the closed box.

A7. In a device of the class described a box,

apertured depression, circuit carrying members having their ends extendingabove the bottomof this depression and means for always closing the aperture in the face plate of 95.1"'h

BENJAMIN B. HOFFMAN, PERCY L. ELIAS.

'-*4 a face plate closing the box and having anl 'f 

